Martinez, California could be the best little town in the East Bay. It’s not… Why?
We’ve got the location. We’ve got the history, the charm, the community, the water, the hills, the freeway, the art, the culture. Oh, the potential. Everything that makes a town fantastic, but we still can’t make it work like it should.
It breaks my heart. It makes me so frustrated I could just scream...I do scream. Can you relate?
There’s something we need to realize… we all feel this way. We all are so passionate about this beautiful place, we could just burst. We ask ourselves, “What can we do to make something here give? How can we get this city where it deserves to be?”
We’ve all got our own plans. They are all good plans and, because they are not the same plans, the plans become fights. The city council becomes a referee and in the end we are left with nothing but the same old problems and a city council that is too busy putting out fires to focus on moving forward.
If we cannot agree to get along than this will never end. Martinez will be stuck in purgatory forever.
When I say “we”, I mean everyone. The Mayor, city council, business owners, homeowners, city employees, anyone who lives in or cares about this town. We have to take care of it and take care of each other if this is going to work.
Residents, shop local. Business owners, provide the opportunity for residents to shop local. Be prideful of your downtown. Take care of your neighbors and support them in their business. Homeowners, take pride in your home and the city it’s in. City officials, listen to us. Help us and be proud of us. We are this town.
There has got to be a few things we agree on. Let’s start there. Instead of an objection, let’s focus on some things we can all agree on.
All of us business owners need signs but the permits are so expensive we can’t afford to hang them. Let’s ask the city council for some help.
We all struggle with the vagrancy problems down here. Let’s figure it out! We need help from the police. They need to know that we need them to help us and we need to know what we can do to to help them make it possible. A meeting about these issues was scheduled for April 26th but due to the extremely low turn out it was cancelled. Let’s not let that happen again.
We all want successful events downtown. Let’s do our part in supporting our community organizations to create events people will travel to Martinez to attend. If youhave a store, participate and cooperate with the planning of the event. Use it to your advantage and have fun! Encourage your customers, family and friends to take part as well. If you live in Martinez, come to the events! They are great and with more attendance and support will only continue to get better.
These are just a few on the top of my list. They are basic but they are important and no one can argue with that. If you have more positive ideas then let’s do it! Us downtowners are a family and we need each other. Instead of running around in circles, let’s support each other and make something good happen. Let’s be the kind, open, inviting town that people will want to come to.
Change is good. Its normal and natural for a town to change with the times. Change is possible without destroying the quaintness that makes Martinez as special as it is. We can preserve history while moving forward. We can celebrate the city’s successful past by bringing this once bustling town to life again.
Martinez deserves it.
